1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to minutiae based fingerprint transactions, and more particularly pertains to methods of authenticating fingerprints in transactions conducted over wireless or wire based communication systems.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Financial institutions are presently investigating the gathering of financial data using wireless communications and a unique private key. Mastercard is currently running trials on a wireless transaction system using RFID tags wherein the RFID tag is swiped across a payment scanner.
Consumers can tap or wave their Nokia phones equipped with the vendor's SmartCover technology at any specially equipped PayPass reader at the point of sale. An RFID chip then transmits account and payment information to a terminal which is connected to the MasterCard payment network. A system provided by JP Morgan Chase & Co. then processes the account payment information. The entire process is designed to take only a few seconds.
Critics of the RFID approach are concerned with security problems, particularly with determining who is paying for a transaction. Also, a method of encryption of the wireless transmissions is necessary. Visa and NTT DoCoMo are also investigating using cellular phones to perform credit card transactions.
Three types of authentication are in general use in the present state of the art, RFID authentication, biometric authentication, and gadget-based authentication. RFID is already in use with speed pass by Exxon Mobile. A biometric system relies upon the use of a unique identifier, like a retinal scan or a fingerprint, to authenticate a transaction. A disadvantage of such systems is that wireless transactions using a biometric approach normally rely upon a central biometric repository to validate the user.
To make a cell phone easy to use for payments, it will have to be equipped with an infrared port, an RFID chip, and Bluetooth or some other kind of short-range wireless connector. Consumers want to quickly transfer their credit card information to a reader, not dial in on a cell phone and use up airtime minutes.